Here are the books that make an impression on me staring at this week's no-doubt largely accurate list of books shipping from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. to comic book and hobby shops across North America.

I might not buy all of the works listed here. I might not buy any. You never know. I'd sure look at the following, though.

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SEP110754 SIGH HC $10.95MAR110858 SECRET HISTORY BOOK 17 (MR) $5.95JUL110825 A TALE OF SAND HC $29.95JUL110835 STORYTELLER HC $19.95
I'm guessing this is the single best week in the history of Archaia in terms of what's hitting stores, and I'm not saying that to be funny. They're doing a Marjane Satrapi hardcover, which seems to me a great last-minute stocking stuffer and I have no idea what it's about. They're releasing the latest issue of Secret History, the daffy, gods-among-men maxi series that I'm very fond of reading, and they're releasing not one but two of their nicely-packaged Jim Henson-related projects, including the comics adaptation of an unproduced screenplay that's received a certain amount of press attention.

OCT110517 WALKING DEAD NOVEL HC DLX SLIPCASE ED (MR) $74.99OCT110518 WALKING DEAD NOVEL HC DLX SLIPCASE S/N LTD ED (MR) $124.99OCT110502 WALKING DEAD TP VOL 15 (MR) $14.99
The latest in Walking Dead related offerings, including two for gifting. A lot of what Robert Kirkman and his artist partners have been able to accomplish with the title is based on the concept and the crossover television show, of course, but you can't really overlook what being so consistent with the series' production has allowed them to do in terms of having material on hand.

OCT110022 BALTIMORE CURSE BELLS #5 $3.50OCT110601 AVENGERS 1959 #4 (OF 5) $2.99OCT110691 MAGNETO NOT A HERO #2 (OF 4) $2.99OCT110940 ROGER LANGRIDGES SNARKED #3 $3.99
This week's comic book series of potential interest. The Chaykin Avengers thing is the sort of book that because it has "Avengers" in the title most people believe will be collected, while another group even more cynically believes that copies might be available for $1 a pop six months from now. (I won't tell you what group I'm in.) Still, I'm dying to look at it, and I forgot to when I was in New York and near comics shops. I throw the Magneto book in there because the title cracks me up. I'm all for any comic that suggest the reader's primary interaction with it will be disappointment.

OCT111120 SAME DIFFERENCE SPECIAL ED HC $16.99JUL111062 ITS A GOOD LIFE IF YOU DONT WEAKEN TP (O/A) (MR) $24.95
Two fine re-release, although it's only the Derek Kirk Kim that's a new edition. Same Difference is so appealing it's hard to believe that everyone that might like it doesn't already have the book, but they wouldn't be doing a new edition if everyone felt like me.

AUG110053 FLASH GORDON COMIC BOOK ARCHIVES HC VOL 05 $49.99JAN110419 ABSOLUTE PROMETHEA HC VOL 03 $99.99AUG110254 TALES OF THE BATMAN DON NEWTON HC VOL 01 $39.99SEP110344 CHUCK JONES DREAM THAT NEVER WAS HC $49.99SEP110274 ROCKETEER ADVENTURES HC VOL 01 DM EX ED $24.99SEP111178 MISS DONT TOUCH ME SET VOL 1-2 $27.99AUG111394 DILBERT HOWS THAT UNDERLING THING WORKING TP $12.99
Here's a big chunk of the gift-style books (I include the latest Dilbert book in this grouping, maybe counter to how most people consume it) available this week. I love the fact that we're getting a Don Newton collection of Batman, although I have very little desire to own that book. I'm most intrigued by how they get that many pages (250+!) out of Chuck Jones' failed Crawford strip. It's from Library Of American Comics, so the supplementary people should be compelling.

SEP111288 HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES TP VOL 05 $12.99SEP111289 NAOKI URASAWA 20TH CENTURY BOYS GN VOL 18 $12.99SEP111269 NATSUMES BOOK OF FRIENDS TP VOL 10 $9.99SEP111263 NO LONGER HUMAN VOL 02 $10.95SEP111277 SLAM DUNK GN VOL 19 $9.99OCT111270 TEZUKAS PRINCESS KNIGHT GN VOL 02 $13.95
Great, great week for manga volumes of interest, ranging from Tezuka to Inoue to Ono. If you could only buy one, I'd get the Tezuka. If you needed to drop one, it'd probably be the Slam Dunk volume. But they're all worth a look.

SEP111098 500 PORTRAITS HC $22.99
Finally, an event on any week it was released, and one of the few that doesn't seem like it's being put out before Christmas on purpose: an art book featuring Tony Millionaire's portraiture. If this one works, they need to do a book of his house drawings.

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The full list of this week's releases, including some titles with multiple cover variations and a long, impressive list of toys and other stuff that isn't comics, can be found here. Despite this official list there's no guarantee a comic will show up in the stores as promised, or in all of the stores as opposed to just a few. Also, stores choose what they carry and don't carry so your shop may not carry a specific publication. There are a lot of comics out there.

To find your local comic book store, check this list; and for one I can personally recommend because I've shopped there, albeit a while back, try this.

The above titles are listed with their Diamond order code in the first field, which may assist you in finding comics at your shop or having them order something for you they don't have in-stock. Ordering through a direct market shop can be a frustrating experience, so if you have a direct line to something -- you know another shop has it, you know a bookstore has it -- I'd urge you to consider all of your options.